Emotions ran high and the runners ran hard at Sunday's 28th edition of the Big Sur International Marathon, an event just 13 days removed from one of the most-jolting episodes in U.S. history.

Many of the 4,000 participants who answered the starter's gun at Big Sur were dressed in blue and gold — the colors of the Boston Marathon, a race whose famously festive atmosphere was shredded on April 15 by the explosion of two terrorist bombs at the finish line.

Three people were killed and 267 were injured in that incident, and the massive crowds lining Highway 1 from Big Sur to Carmel, and waiting at the finish line at Rio Road, were united in support, anxious to put an indomitable spirit on display.

"I think this race was more emotional for me today, just being around so many other runners who weren't going to let the actions of a few idiots stop us from doing what we love," said Doug Schroeder, a 27-year-old St. Paul, Minn., resident, one of about 400 runners who ran in both marathons this year as part of a program called "Boston 2 Big Sur."

"I ran in my Boston shirt today just to show my support," Schroeder said. "It was just amazing to see everybody out here today, and I can tell you that back home, in Minnesota, a lot more people have already said, 'I want to qualify for Boston.' Personally, I can't wait to go back there."

The "Boston 2 Big Sur" contingent were identifiable by special, dark-blue bibs, but hundreds of their fellow runners got into the spirit, too, wearing shirts, shorts, hats or headbands commemorating the Boston tragedy. Such camaraderie is part of a natural bond that distance runners feel.

"Mile after mile, I just kept trying to think of things that would keep me going, keep me moving forward, and my mind kept going back to Boston," said Michelle Clarke, 38, of Toronto. "I kept telling myself, 'I'm doing this for those people in Boston who can't do it next year. I'm doing it for the people who won't be able to do it ever again." That was my mindset throughout this race."

Her running partner, Michael O'Riordan, 39, said he felt a different kind of compulsion on Sunday from the events he experienced 13 days earlier when he and Clarke ran the Boston Marathon together.

"This kind of thing makes you want to double down, rather than shy away," O'Riordan said. "You feel more motivated than ever before."

Several "Boston 2 Big Sur" runners said their emotions bubbled to the surface as they approached the finish line in Carmel and saw a familiar face — Ron Kramer, a race manager at the Boston Marathon over the past 25 years — waiting to greet them with a congratulatory hug,

For Kramer, who wore a blue-and-gold Boston Marathon jacket and a Red Sox cap, the weekend on the Peninsula was a special one.

"Being here so soon after what happened to us in Boston is very emotional for me. I feel the same kind of spirit from the community, the spectators, and the runners that I feel in Boston," he said. "There's a kindred spirit among runners, and I think that spills over to the spectators as well at an event like this one. The community is what makes an event like Boston or Big Sur."

Greg Loge, a 35-year-old Davis resident, said the positive part of the Boston incident was, in fact, the way the community came together with a showing of human compassion.

"The response to the disaster was the uplifting part — all the people who stepped up to help, all the resources that came together there in such a short period of time ... that was the shining light," he said. "A couple of people did a terrible thing, but thousands responded."

Loge said he was buoyed during Sunday's race by seeing so many fellow runners wearing Boston-related garb, and so many spectators holding Boston-related signs along the course.

Nicole Bobco, a graduate student at Moss Landing Marine Laboratory held a sign just beyond the finish line reading, "United We Stand: Boston 3 Big Sur."

"Even though I've never been to Boston, and even though I've never run a marathon, I wanted to do something today to give something back to the running community in some way," said Bobco, who ran in the Big Sur's nine-miler wearing a "Boston Strong" headband. "I got sick about a week ago and wasn't sure I'd be able to run, but I made this sign because I knew I was going to be here, one way or another, to lend support."

Toronto runner Jessica Wilson, 27, ran the race in a plaid mini-skirt and black knee socks that looked fashionable with her blue-and-gold Boston Marathon shirt. She ran Boston this year and has every intention to return for the 2014 race.

"Part of running marathons is learning to dig deep and face your fears. You run toward your fears — that's what marathon running is," she said. "So, for runners, there's no option but to rally. That's what we do. We lift ourselves up by running toward our fears.

"I have absolutely no doubt that people will rally, and that next year's Boston Marathon will be a special day in our history."

In addition to the individual tributes, the Big Sur International Marathon honored those who were affected by the events in Boston by passing out "Boston Tribute" pins at the expo, and providing a banner for people to sign and leave their thoughts. The BSIM also sold limited-edition T-shirts commemorating the Boston incident, donating all proceeds to "The One Fund," a charity established by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino to help the people most affected by the events of April 15.